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| The Treasury of Athens |
Delphi was the home of the Oracle... a woman who would have visions that predicted the future. People from all over Greece and the broader Mediterranean would come to ask questions of the Oracle of Delphi. However, the Oracle would provide answers which required interpretation... a bit like a horoscope, ie open to pretty broad interpretation!
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| Temple of Apollo in cloud |
The ruins of ancient Delphi had the air of something mystical. On the day of our visit, it was overcast with low cloud and fog. Ancient Delphi was not as expansive as some of the other locations (ie Olympia, Acropolis) but it had some real charm being perched high in the mountains. There was a temple to Apollo, ampitheatre and an area for a smaller version of the Olympic games.
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| Museum stuff |
Adjacent to the ruins, was the now obligatory museum which housed and protected the valuable artifacts that had been found at the site. Our guide, Helen of Athens, provided us with the background to the objects (often explaining the different myths associated).
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| Been there! photo |
After our visit it was time to re-board the bus and begin our trip northward to Kalabaka and Meteora. The road trip took us over the Pindus Mountains... more twisting, winding, switchback roads. The scenery was fairly spectacular!! The bus driver continues to do an outstanding job... and his fellow Greek drivers continue to take some outstanding risks (ie overtaking on blind corners, disobeying almost all roadsigns).
On the way we stopped at Brallos Pass which was a blocking position established by the Commonwealth Forces. We then moved on to another defensive position in the vicinity of Domokos. The Mayor of Domokos (quite a small village) invited us to a local winery. This required the bus driver to do a bit of cross country driving, complete with creek crossing. The winery was situated in the middle of nowhere! Notwithstanding the geographics, the Mayor and his friend (the owner of the winery) had prepared a feast to accompany a wine-tasting. The food was brilliant... souvlaki, cheeses, other tasty stuff I don't know the name of! The wine was pretty good for a winery that had only been functioning a couple of years. The tastings were... fairly generous!! The hospitality and warmth was genuine and full. To cap off this visit we were each presented with a 'clean skin' to take away.
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| Wine and food action shot! |
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| Smiling in anticipation! |
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| The Winery, |
We moved on to Kalabaka which is the town at the foot of Meteora... this is the area with the Monastries perched high on top of rock formations.
I understand the travel methodology now....
ReplyDeleteFood, drink, more food, walk, look at very old stuff, nap... more food and drink - sleep.
Excellent photos and narrative... the weather now looks a tad cold, which means more food and red wine :-)
You have pretty much nailed the methodology... except I think some days are food, food, drink, food, food, sleep!
ReplyDeleteThe weather has turned a bit warmer and clearer, stay tuned for the next instalments. I am trying to catch up with the blog but just sooo much food and wine!